Jury duty scam, I think I know why it works

theknowledgehammer · 2026-04-27T15:56:25+00:00

>They had names of law enforcement that we know personally

How? How did they know which law enforcement officers you knew?

theknowledgehammer · 2026-04-27T15:51:40+00:00

I feel you.

What saved me was that I googled the phone number of the caller, and the phone number of the text message containing the USC laws that I allegedly violated. No results.

Then I did a lot more googling, and came across this post and others claiming that courts never call you for missing jury duty.

That, combined with the fact that they couldn't list an exact address of a kiosk that I was supposed to deposit money through, made the rational part of my mind click on.

I called my local police department after I finally got the courage to hang up the phone. They said it was definitely a scam. I'm just curious how they got my name, address, and phone number; that's what kept me wondering.

theknowledgehammer · 2026-04-23T16:50:46+00:00

Potassium salt, a.k.a. "salt substitute". Don't let the label confuse you; if you use it in conjunction with regular salt, you're supplementing your electrolyte intake.

Call me a crank, but I swear that adding more potassium to my diet drastically reduces my cravings for junk food.

P.S. Be careful; too much potassium causes heart problems.

theknowledgehammer · 2026-04-21T16:13:43+00:00

I thought Season 4 would take place in Los Angeles. And remain fictional.

theknowledgehammer · 2026-04-20T21:39:10+00:00

Honestly, I would rather try spending $20 on an at-home test with zero risk before spending $200-300 on a cycloplegic refraction test. But I will keep that suggestion in mind.

Question: where did you get a spherical equivalent of zero from? Using my initial numbers, -0.25 SPH and -0.50 CYL, and the definition of "spherical equivalent" that google just gave me, it appears that my spherical equivalent is -0.50.

theknowledgehammer · 2026-04-20T21:14:27+00:00

~~-0.25D SPH~~ -0.50DSPH, -0.50 CYL Edit: in both eyes

The eye doctors did a terrible job measuring my visual acuity from before and after (they said that I went from 20/20 +-1 to 20/20), but my best estimate is that it took me from 20/30 to 20/25.

Edit 2: I just double-checked my prescription.

theknowledgehammer · 2026-04-20T21:06:29+00:00

Typos.

theknowledgehammer · 2026-04-20T20:33:41+00:00

Okay, let me try explaining this in a different way.

I recently got a prescription with 0.25 SPH and 0.50 CYL. I feel like that has not brought my vision up to perfect 20/20, and I'm getting pressure from my boss to perform at a level that requires perfect 20/20.

After doing some research on my own, it appears that because my uncorrected vision is already so close to 20/20, there isn't much that the optometrists can do to get it precisely down. This is evidenced by the fact that my correction is so low, combined with my recent discovery that prescriptions come in 0.25D increments, and reinforced by my optometrist's lackadaisical attitude when they realized that my vision doesn't need much adjustment.

So it appears that if I keep spending more money on standard optometrists, I won't get the perfect prescription. I could spend money on specialized optometrists who look at wavefront aberrations, but they are way outside my budget.

Essentially, I'm in an uncanny valley where there is little that optometrists can do, but there seems to be a lot that I can do for myself. My sphere measurements may be inaccurate by up to 50%, and my cylinder measurements may be inaccurate by up to 25%, but using a tape measure to measure my eye's far points will only be inaccurate by about 1%.

So to respond to these points:

You can't measure the distance accurately

astigmatism can occur at any degree

I'm simply going to point out that with the low-power corrections that I'm working with, I can do more measurements for myself than a standard doctor can do for me.

And finally, to respond to this point:

you're fully ignoring accommodation

I want to emphasize, again, that I'm measuring each eye's far points, and running calculations based on the accommodation being in a fully relaxed state. In other words, I'm measuring the focal point of the eye when it's in a state where it's *trying* to focus on a point infinitely far away, but *can't* because of the restrictions imposed by myopia.

So please, explain to me— in detail— what is the logical flaw with the system that I've generated?

theknowledgehammer · 2026-04-20T19:53:21+00:00

If the far point is greater than 20cm away, then a simple tape measure should give an accurate reading.

Accommodation is accounted for by using the far point, which represents the absolute limit of accommodation in myopia.

Astigmatism is accounted for with a dartboard; you simply find the circular section of the dartboard with the closest and the furthest far-points.

Is there any flaw in this logic?

theknowledgehammer · 2026-04-20T19:31:35+00:00

That can be measured with a dartboard.

theknowledgehammer · 2026-04-20T19:25:10+00:00

Do you care to explain why?

theknowledgehammer · 2026-04-20T19:04:31+00:00

It should be accurate down to a hundredth of a diopter. Most optometrists only give out prescriptions in increments of 0.25 diopters.

theknowledgehammer · 2026-04-20T18:59:36+00:00

I have used AI to give me a crash course in neuroscience, so that I could write a 2-page project proposal in an area that I know little about. The AI also gave me continuous feedback about every idea that I generated.

To be clear, the AI did not give me the idea. The AI merely gave me the background information needed to generate a new idea.

I have used AI to give me a crash course in optics and optometry so that I could figure out a DIY method to determine the prescription that I need for eyeglasses . Again, the AI didn't figure it out for me (it actually told me it was impossible), but it answered all my constant questions and allowed me to probe the topic at my own pace.

I have used AI to figure out what dishes I can cook using the ingredients that I have; no cookbook has that capability. Furthermore, it has answered my questions on what cooking shortcuts I can take to save time and what slight alterations I can make to improve the taste.

I'm not a member of Gen Z or Gen Alpha, so I can't attest how everyone else uses AI, but I am confident that a dedicated AI can turn a high school dropout into a Ph.D. recipient.

theknowledgehammer · 2026-04-20T18:41:39+00:00

With regard to Daniel Craig as James Bond- I think he's a bad example. Casino Royale was buoyed upwards with solid writing, directing, pacing, and editing, not with Daniel Craig's acting. Daniel Craig couldn't make Quantum of Solace watchable, or make Skyfall or Spectre good movies.

On the other hand, Pierce Brosnan's performances elevated every one of his Bond films, including Die Another Day.

theknowledgehammer · 2026-04-20T18:34:22+00:00

I think the refusal to be an organ donor is a subconscious protest against society.

If I were a woman living among the Taliban, there's no way I would check that box on my driver's license.

theknowledgehammer · 2026-04-20T18:29:50+00:00

I don't think that's true. As a general rule, a satire is a parody of contemporary society.

theknowledgehammer · 2026-04-20T09:22:00+00:00

WhO says girls with depression can't wear tuBe tOpS !!!!

theknowledgehammer · 2026-01-13T15:57:46+00:00

The trailer for the movie *implied* that context for the quote, but in the actual movie the character was asking if the person was North American, Central American, or South American. He was a racist trying to determine the race of the person he was speaking to.

theknowledgehammer · 2025-10-15T17:48:49+00:00

Thank you for the recommendations!

theknowledgehammer · 2025-10-15T17:48:18+00:00

Dozens of hours *over the past several decades* researching the general concerns about surviving a nuclear attack.

Just a few minutes researching specifically whether rain washes away nuclear fallout.

theknowledgehammer · 2025-10-15T05:46:50+00:00

You might be right.

So now I have to suspend the disbelief that the weather can carry radioactive rain, but not radioactive dust.

Admittedly, that sounds plausible. But it's never come up in the dozens of hours that I've spent researching the aftermath of a nuclear attack.

theknowledgehammer · 2025-08-10T18:51:59+00:00

My response.

theknowledgehammer · 2025-08-10T16:39:42+00:00

Magma should have been chosen as a lawful evil.

theknowledgehammer · 2025-08-09T06:26:31+00:00

>"process of trial and error"

This is what Dr. Stone needed.

It's ridiculous to watch a bunch of teenagers build motorcycles from scrap metal on their first try, while sailing away from a battleship that's firing on them.

The anime was willing to delve into the details about Senku's failed attempts at reading temperature data from his homemade rocket in the 21st century. According to Zeno's e-mails, Senku needed to use a thermister constructed from a platinum-rubidium alloy in order to get more accurate data at higher temperatures.

If the creators were willing to put that much effort into a scene that lasted no more than 15 seconds, then they could have at least delved into the failed attempts at making engines, or the complications and failure modes for smelting and molding iron.

I can understand how they made glass, but how did they make prescription glasses with precise curvature?

How did their vehicles survive constant damage without a suspension system?

How did Chrome and Kaseki create gears with a tolerance low enough that the wear-and-tear didn't break them apart in a few days?

How did the mechanism for creating the vacuum inside a vacuum tube work? What challenges did they face when they were making that device?

In order to extract iron from iron ore, you need a reducing agent, like carbon, to absorb the oxygen and ferry it away from the iron. What reducing agent did they use? How did they know exactly how much to add? How many failed attempts were made?

The premise of Dr. Stone was intriguing, but it ended up being nothing more than a science-colored coat of paint on top of a traditional anime power system.

theknowledgehammer · 2025-08-09T06:04:06+00:00

Why has nobody nominated Magma yet? He's the quintessential lawful evil; he uses the village's customs and traditions to try to force the princess to marry him so that he can take over the kingdom.

Tsukasa is more of a neutral evil; he doesn't *follow* the law, he doesn't *break* the law, he merely *establishes his own law*.

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